The present invention relates generally to lasers, and more specifically the invention pertains to a system and a process for suppressing chaos in diode lasers due to optical backscatter from optical elements. Whenever any laser is interfaced with any type of optics there is always backscatter back into the laser. For diode lasers this backscatter makes it emit chaotic radiation where the frequency spectrum is broad and contains many different frequencies. This means that the laser has limited use as a source of information transfer in fibers.
The task of suppressing chaos in diode lasers due to optical backscatter is alleviated, to some extent, by the system disclosed in the following U.S. Patents, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,429 issued to Smith et al;
U.S. Pat. No.4,196,396 issued to Smith;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,785 issued to Papuchon et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,660 issued to Pratt, Jr. et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,263 issued to Garito;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,486 issued to Grippi;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,770 issued to Miyazaki et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,243 issued to Aiki et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,276 issued to Dixon et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,641 issued to Scifres et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,635 issued to Baer et al.; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,715 issued to Knollenberg.
All of the above references deal with diode laser technology. The Smith et al. reference uses a Kerr medium in an interferometer cavity. While these references are instructive, a need remains to suppress the chaos in diode lasers due to optical backscatter from ordinary optical elements. The present invention is intended to satisfy that need.